Dear !*TITLE*! !*LASTNAME*!,
We thought we would give our members a quiet time with now events so that you (and we....) could follow the Winter Olympic Games in Vancouver. But guess that at least my Finnish and Japanese readers feel, at least until now, that there has not been that much to watch, and even less to celebrate. Both our countries' Olympic Committees set a target of 12 medals, but both are very, very far from this target. As of writing this, Japan has three medals, Finland just one.
So, I guess we better go back to business and we start off with a Club Evening coming Tuesday. Read more below and sign up soon, unless you have not done so already!

Tuesday, 2 March
FCCJ Club Evening at Moomin Bakery & Café
Our next Club Evening will be held on Tuesday, 2 March at the Moomin Bakery & Café in Tokyo Dome City La Qua, Korakuen. Come and meet old and new friends in a relaxing atmosphere accompanied by Finnish style food and drinks!We encourage you also to invite other members of your staff and/or your spouse!

More about Moomin Bakery & Café: http://www.benelic.com/moomin_bc/main.html
Please note that we will collect the fee at the door and provide you with a receipt. Late cancellations and no-shows will be invoiced.
If you like to attend, please click link at right.
To check who has already registered, click HERE!!

Tuesday, 6 April - Members OnlyFCCJ Annual General Assembly
The 10th Ordinary Annual General Assembly of FCCJ will be held at the

Embassy of Finland on

Tuesday, 6 April, 2008 at 17.00
The Assembly will handle matters according to Article 9 in the Articles of Association of the FCCJ.
Dinner at 18:00
After the Assembly (at 18:00), we will have a dinner hosted by Ambassador Jari Gustafsson.
This is a member only event and he dinner is free for one representative/member.
If you would like to attend, please click link at right!

Friday, 16 April - Stora Enso CupSweden - Finland Golf Challenge 2010
The 17th Sweden-Finland Golf Challenge (team competition between the Swedish and the Finnish Chambers),
the Stora Enso Cup, is played on Friday, 16 April for a trophy donated by Stora Enso Japan K.K.
Members of the SCCJ members will also play for their Spring Golf Cup and FCCJ members for their Golf Cup.
This time we have a new venue, Taiheiyo Club Narita Course, which is conveniently located just 6 km off the Tomisato I.C. (one before Narita) on the Higashi-Kanto Expressway.

Details:

Date & Time:

Friday, 16 April 2010 (start from no. 1 and 10, first tee-off at 9:24)

Study on the barriers to trade and investment between the EU and Japan
The European Commission's Directorate General for Trade commissioned Copenhagen Economics to conduct a study on the economic impact both for the EU and Japan of a bilateral dismantling of both tariff and non-tariff barriers to trade (under a bilateral agreement). The encouraging results of the study are now available. The conclusion of the study is linked below and the full report can be accessed via the EBC homepage http://www.ebc-jp.com.
Key findings are that:

EU exports to Japan could increase by almost 50 percent or 29 billion euros if the cost of non-tariff measures in Japan were reduced to the fullest possible extent

EU exports to Japan could increase by 23 percent or 14 billion euros if tariffs were abolished,without taking into account tariff reductions from a successful Doha round.

Economic welfare could increase by 33 billion euros

The potential for opening up Japan's public procurement market further has been quantified at 74 billion euros.

"...a decline in the relative importance of bilateral trade between the EU and Japan should not necessarily be equated with low economic potential in the bilateral trade relationship. This report argues that there is considerable unrealised economic potential to revitalise bilateral trade."

News from FinlandFinnish January jobless rate up at 9.1 pct
Finland's adjusted unemployment rate rose to 9.1 per cent in January from 6.6 per cent in the year-ago period, Statistics Finland (SF) said in a statement Tuesday.
The agency added that the jobless rate in the 15-to-24 age cohort had jumped by 7.1 percentage points year-on-year to 22.7 per cent.

Grin of the WeekYou hear the truth from the kids...
One day a guy was driving with his 4-year-old daughter and beeped his car horn by mistake.
She turned and looked at him for an explanation.
He said, "I did that by accident."
She replied, "I know that, daddy."
He replied, "How'd you know?"
The girl said, "Because you didn't say 'AS***LE!' afterwards!"

If you have any comments, rumors,
gossip or inside information, send it to: fccj@gol.com

ABOUT THIS BULLETIN
This bulletin is
published by the Finnish Chamber of Commerce in Japan (FCCJ) and
distributed to over 650 recipients among its members and related
organizations. FCCJ was established in April 1999 to promote trade and
economic exchange between Japan and Finland and has today 62 corporate
members, 16 individual and one special member.